What is an Encumbrance Certificate?
The Encumbrance Certificate (EC) is an official document issued by the Kerala State Registration Department that lists every transaction registered against a specific property over a specified period. If a property has been sold, mortgaged, gifted, partitioned, or had any other registered transaction recorded against it, the EC will show that transaction.
In simpler terms: the EC tells you whether the property you are about to buy is actually free to be sold, or whether somebody else has a claim against it that you would inherit as the new owner.
If you take only one piece of advice from this guide, take this one: never sign on a Kerala property without first reading its EC for at least the last 30 years.
Why a 30-year EC matters more than a 13-year EC
The Kerala registration system allows you to request an EC for any period — 7 years, 13 years, 30 years, or longer. Many brokers will tell you a 13-year EC is enough. It is not.
A 30-year search is the minimum because some encumbrances — particularly mortgages, inheritance claims, and old partition disputes — can lie dormant for decades and resurface only when ownership transfers. We have seen cases in Ernakulam and Trivandrum where a 20-year-old mortgage from a previous owner came back to bite a new buyer who had only checked the 13-year EC.
Cost difference: A 13-year EC costs roughly ₹535 + per-year fees. A 30-year EC costs roughly ₹915 + per-year fees. The difference is a few hundred rupees. The difference in protection is enormous.
How to apply for an EC online through ReLIS
ReLIS (Registration Information System) is Kerala's online portal for the Registration Department. To apply for an EC online:
Step 1: Visit the ReLIS portal
Go to relis.kerala.gov.in — the official Kerala Registration Department online portal. You will see options for various services including Encumbrance Certificates, certified copies, and pre-registration.
Step 2: Register or log in
You need to create a citizen account using your mobile number and email. The system will send an OTP to verify. Save your login credentials — you'll need them to download the certificate later.
Step 3: Apply for Encumbrance Certificate
Click on "Apply for Encumbrance Certificate (Form 22)". You'll be asked to fill in:
- District and Sub-Registrar Office (SRO) where the property is registered
- Village name
- Survey number (with sub-divisions, e.g., 412/3B)
- Period for which the EC is required (we strongly recommend 30 years)
- Property description (boundaries, area in cents or sq ft, etc.)
- Applicant details and reason for application ("for purchase verification" is standard)
Step 4: Pay the fee
The fee is calculated based on the period requested and is paid online through net banking, UPI, or debit card. Save the payment receipt — you'll need it if there are any issues.
Step 5: Receive your EC
For digitised SROs (most of Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Kozhikode, and other urban areas), the EC is generated within a few hours to a few days. For non-digitised SROs or rural areas, the application is forwarded to the SRO and processed manually — this can take up to two weeks.
You'll receive a digitally signed PDF that you can download from your ReLIS account.
Common mistake to avoid
The seller will often offer to obtain the EC for you "to save time." Don't accept this. Always obtain the EC yourself in your own name. A seller-procured EC can be edited, partial, or simply fake. The few hundred rupees you spend on your own EC is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.
How to read an EC: What to look for
A Kerala EC has multiple columns showing each registered transaction during the queried period. Key columns include:
- Document number and date: The registration number of each transaction
- Nature of document: Sale deed, mortgage deed, gift deed, partition deed, etc.
- Names of parties: Who transferred and who received
- Consideration / amount: The declared value of the transaction
- Schedule of property: The boundaries and survey numbers
- Volume and page number: Where the deed is stored in the SRO records
Red flags in a Kerala EC
When reading an EC, these are the patterns that should raise concern:
Active mortgage
If the EC shows a mortgage deed without a corresponding mortgage-release deed, the property is still mortgaged. You cannot legally purchase it until the loan is cleared. Even if the seller says "we'll clear it from the sale proceeds," insist on seeing the bank's release letter before final payment.
Rapid ownership transfers
A property that has changed hands three or four times in five years is unusual in Kerala. It often suggests either flipping (high price inflation) or attempts to obscure a problematic title. Investigate why.
Partition deeds without all heirs signing
If a property was inherited and partitioned among siblings, every legal heir must sign the partition deed. Missing signatures often resurface as inheritance disputes later. Cross-check the legal heir certificate against the partition deed.
Gift deeds in the chain
Gift deeds between unrelated parties or with unusual conditions (life-tenancy, reversion clauses) can be challenged. A gift deed in the title chain isn't automatically bad, but it requires careful review.
Boundary inconsistencies
The schedule of property in each deed should match. If boundaries shift between deeds — neighbouring survey numbers change, areas differ — there may be encroachment or measurement disputes.
Missing transactions
If the seller claims to have purchased the property in 2015 but the EC shows no transaction in 2015, either the EC is from the wrong SRO or the seller's chain is broken. This is a major red flag.
What an EC does NOT tell you
Even a clean 30-year EC is not the full picture. The EC does not show:
- Unregistered transactions: Power of attorney sales, agreement-to-sell without registration, certain types of inheritance
- Litigation: Active court cases are not in the EC — check eCourts separately
- Building violations: Approvals, deviations, and municipal disputes are with the local body
- Land use issues: Whether the property is on agricultural land, in CRZ, or in a violation zone
- Tax dues: Property tax arrears are with the local Panchayat or Corporation
A clean EC is necessary but not sufficient. It's the first check, not the only check.
What to do if the EC shows a problem
If you find an active mortgage, an open dispute, or anything unusual, your three options are:
- Walk away: If the issue is serious (open inheritance dispute, partition without all heirs), often the safest move
- Demand resolution before purchase: The seller must clear the issue (loan release, dispute settlement) before any payment
- Get legal opinion: A Kerala property lawyer can review the specific issue and tell you whether it's curable
The propxpraman approach
At propxpraman, our verification engine automatically pulls a 30-year EC, parses every transaction, identifies every red flag we've described above, and cross-references against eCourts for litigation. You get a plain-English summary of what's in your EC and what to do about it — within minutes, not weeks.
The EC analysis is just one of five dimensions we check. We also verify ownership identity, scan for fraud signals, analyse land hazards (flood, landslide, seismic), and compare the asking price against actual recent sales. Every claim in our report is cited to its source with a timestamp.